Feather Bed
by Forgotten Cat
Summary: A mystery is dropped on the Cullens' doorstep - and Bella still hasn't been changed into a vampire! Will she get her heart's desire?
1. Chapter 1

_This is set directly after Eclipse and I take some inspiration from "Growing Up Cullen" – that delight of parodies. __**Sense and Sensability**__ is, of course, by Jane Austen. I did not invent her, either._

_I'm trying something a little different – I usually write the Wolf Pack – so please let me know what you think!_

It was another endless summer day and Bella was bored - well, not bored, exactly. Bella was restless. All she had wanted for more than a year was to be with Edward and now she was marrying him. She had wanted her complicated feelings for Jacob to disappear and Jacob had obliged her by disappearing. She was no longer being hunted by Victoria or being terrorized by an army of newborn vampires. Everything was perfect. Well, almost everything. Bella was still human – and a virgin.

Charlie was working the late shift tonight, which had meant quality time with him over breakfast. Edward was, of course, not invited. Charlie wouldn't have believed that Edward could spend the night in Bella's room with absolutely no 'funny business' and to be perfectly honest, Bella couldn't quite believe it either.

Stretched out on the couch in the summer heat, she imagined the conversation she and Charlie would have if Edward casually strolled down the stairs with her that morning.

"It's not what you think!" she'd say, with a sheepish look on her face.

"I think he spent the night up there," Charlie would reply with a stern look.

"He did but—"

"The only butt I want to see is his, moving out that door. And I don't want to see the front of him around here any more, neither." The shotgun having mysteriously appeared in Charlie's hands, he would then wave it menacingly.

She would storm out; Edward would apologize, magnanimously, and then tell her to apologize. It just wasn't worth it. It wasn't too long before she'd be a married woman and could do whatever she wanted, assuming that the person she wanted to do _whatever_ with would finally agree… to _whatever_. Why stir up trouble?

Bella had been reading _Sense and Sensibility_ before she drifted off into her daydream and her finger still held her place on page 29. "Too much entailing and not enough Edward," she whined, letting the book fall to the floor. There was no Edward here, either, although he was picking her up later for them to 'have dinner' at his house. Despite the disaster of their first _italiano_ effort, Alice had recently taken to planning and, to Bella's chagrin, executing elegant dinner parties. Ever the gracious hostess, Alice made sure the food was edible and ever the reluctant guest, Bella would have to eat it while everyone made polite conversation and admired the centerpieces and name cards.

To be fair, Emmett did join her in consuming Alice's delights from time to time, out of nostalgia or maybe just a misplaced machismo, but Bella had a feeling that the nasty looks from Rosalie weren't the only punishment the big vampire received for his gastronomic adventures.

Edward always gallantly averted his eyes as she chewed, glancing in her direction only to make sure her plate was full of a healthy variety of foods – plenty of vegetables, which, as he says, suit a lady's delicate palate – and not too much of sweet things or red meat. Those were for Emmett.

Bella closed her eyes and smiled to herself as she remembered Edward's cultured manners. He was like a gentleman from another time; he was a gentleman from another time, always treating her like a lady, instead of the gawky, clumsy girl she saw in the mirror. She imagined Edward's cold hands lightly touching hers and felt a familiar tingle begin in her stomach and as she imagined Edward's hands moving up her arms, the tingle moved lower. She drew a single finger over the crotch of her jeans and felt the tingle grow stronger.

Opening her eyes, she looked around the room. Charlie was at work and the couch didn't face any windows. These days, she didn't even have to worry about Jake stopping by at the wrong time. Nobody stopped by except Edward, and she wouldn't mind if he interrupted her.

Lying back down, Bella began slowly drawing circles around one breast with one hand while keeping the other on the crotch of her jeans. Her nipples grew hard under her the thin material of her t-shirt and she each time her fingers brushed against the hard nub, it sent a shiver of pleasure down her center. But like all her solo explorations, Bella grew increasingly more frustrated as she grew more aroused. The tingle grew stronger but she didn't know how to make it stop – to make herself come. Her hips bucking slightly off the couch, she unzipped her jeans and tried sliding a tentative finger underneath her damp underwear but it just felt odd, not sexy at all.

Bella sighed in frustration and rolled off the couch onto the floor, landing on her stomach and knocking her elbow against the leg of the coffee table. From this new vantage point, she could see the dust bunnies under the couch.

"When was the last time I vacuumed in here?" she asked nobody in particular.

Zipping up her jeans, Bella stood up and went to tackle a problem she knew how to solve – dirt. And when Edward arrived, exactly on time at 5 o'clock, he found Bella re-arranging Charlie's videos into alphabetical order on a spotless floor. While Edward did insist on following proper etiquette for certain things, like the proper topics of discussion at a dinner party or asking the father of the girl you want to marry for his permission, on others, he could be more flexible. Like, sneaking up behind Bella to plant a kiss on her head while she was engaged in a domestic task instead of properly knocking at the door and waiting to be let in.

Edward liked to joke that Bella brought out his impulsive side, which Esme thought was darling. (It made her love Bella even more.) Emmett would usually then ask a question along the lines of "you mean you didn't starch your briefs this morning?" or "Is that a fancy word for pussy-side?" But pussy was the furthest thing from Edward's mind as he crept towards Bella. Her scent wafted towards him. The freesia was a bit earthier today; perhaps she hadn't bathed.

"Ah, well, no time for bathing now if we want to be on time for Alice's party," Edward thought to himself as he leaned in to kiss Bella on the top of her head. Bella dropped the pile of videos and gave a long sigh of contentment.

"I was waiting for you," she said.

"I'm here," he replied.

"Is that my outfit?" Bella pointed to a garment bag Edward was holding aloft.

"Alice sends it with her compliments. She says you look ravishing in it." He held it out to her. "Go change and meet me down here in 15 minutes. I'll finish with this." He gestured to the pile of videos on the floor.

Bella gave Edward a quick peck on the cheek and ran up stairs to her room, only tripping once. She hung the garment bag on the hook her closet door and unzipped it – inside was some sort of Indian outfit. She pulled out the long, full skirt. It was a rich peacock blue and covered in elaborate beadwork. There were leggings that went with it but Bella decided to forgo them for the jeans she had on. Nobody would see under her skirt anyways. The top was the same color and covered in the same beadwork. Instead of a back, it had a series of criss-crossing laces, loosely tied.

"That means no bra," Bella sighed to herself. "Good thing I don't need one." She pulled off her shirt and slid the top over her head. The last piece in the bag was a sheer bit of fabric that Bella imagined would be used as a scarf or shawl. She wrapped it around herself, glanced in the mirror to make sure her hair wasn't too messy, shoved a t-shirt into her purse, and ran downstairs to meet Edward.

He was standing at the foot of the stairs, now dressed in an Indian outfit of his own.

"Does this mean we're having curry tonight?" Bella sighed.

"Alice wanted something exotic," Edward grinned. "And she had fun shopping for spices at the Indian grocery in Seattle."

"As long as somebody is having fun." Bella rolled her eyes in annoyance. A cold look flashed over Edward's face as he drew up next to her. He leaned down and quietly spoke into her ear. "She will be your sister, Bella, and she only has this time to make food for you. Please be more gracious."

The car ride to the Cullen house was quiet.

"You can turn on the radio if you want," said Bella.

Edward looked at her while he flicked the radio on – opera. "Thank you," he said. "I wouldn't want to miss the _aria_."

"Are you still mad?"

"I wasn't mad to begin with just," he searched for the right words, "disappointed in your attitude."

Bella gave him a small smile. "I promise to be on my best behavior tonight if—"

"If?"

"If you promise to do something for me later."

"Bella," Edward warned. "I thought we had discussed this."

"Not _that_ but maybe… like that night when I slept here—"

"I'll think about it."

And the aria played on.


	2. Chapter 2

_This is set directly after Eclipse and I take some inspiration from "Growing Up Cullen" – that delight of parodies. _

_I'm trying something a little different – I usually write the Wolf Pack – so please let me know what you think!_

Faint, twangy music greeted the pair as they entered the Cullens' house. The entrance way had been decorated with hundreds of tiny lights that twinkled as Bella spun around to admire them.

She was still spinning as Rosalie came down the stairs. She was wearing a bright red sari with gold beadwork and gold bangles on her wrists. Her blond hair was pulled into two long, neatly braided pigtails. Bella's jaw dropped in awe. Rosalie looked more like a goddess than she usually did.

"Rosie, you look very nice." Edward gave her a slight nod of the head in greeting.

"As do you, brother." She looked over at Bella. "You, on the other hand, are a mess. Come here."

Bella took a step closer to the goddess.

"Edward, take this in to Alice." She handed him a silver tray covered in flower petals. Edward gave one last smile to Bella and went to find his other sister.

Rosalie held Bella at arm's length and ran a practiced eye over her ensemble. Very dissatisfied with what she saw, Rosalie spun Bella to face the opposite direction and had untied and properly retied Bella's top nice and tight before Bella could even breathe in to protest. Spinning Bella back around, she knelt down in front of her.

"Shoes off," she instructed but Bella's head was spinning and she couldn't understand. Rosalie raised a single eyebrow. "I know what you two have been doing this afternoon. Do you think we wouldn't smell it?"

Rosalie pulled Bella's sneakers off of her bare, smelly feet with only a slight crinkle of her nose giving away her disgust. "Skirt up," she commanded next but Bella's mind was still foggy. So, Rosalie reached up under Bella's skirt and undid her jeans, pulling them quickly down her legs. "Unacceptable," she hissed.

"Step," Rosalie instructed and this time Bella obeyed. Rosalie yanked one jeans leg off and then the other.

Understanding dawned on Bella. "But Edward didn't—"

"So, this was a solo exploration then," said Rosalie with a smirk. "Really, Bella."

Bella blushed but she felt the unvanquished tingle return as Rosalie gave one of her bare legs a lingering brush under the peacock skirt.

"I suppose your afternoon of pleasure also explains why your hair is a mess." Rosalie was suddenly behind her. Vampire quick, she finger combed it out and gave her a neat center part.

"There. It will have to do. Come on then, let's not keep Alice waiting."

Rosalie began to walk off and Bella, dazed, followed in her wake.

"Oh! I forgot one thing." Rosalie stopped and whipped around, nearly hitting Bella with her pigtails. She was holding a handful of golden bangles.

"Give me your hands," she commanded.

Bella didn't dare refuse as Rosalie slid the bangles onto one wrist and then the other. They were still ice-cold.

And as Rosalie sauntered off into the dining area, Bella could still smell the faint perfume of her on her wrists.

Alice, dressed to the nines in a blindingly white sari with silver beading, had arranged an elaborate Indian dinner – heaping bowls of food Bella could not identify and had no idea how to eat. She nervously jangled the bracelets on her arm as Edward piled food on her plate.

The table was set for eight with name cards detailing where everybody should sit. Carlisle and Esme at the head and foot of the table; Jasper and Alice, Bella and Edward on the right side; Emmett and Rosalie on the left.

"I made sure Alice gave you a fork, my dear." Esme's soft voice carried over the clink of the serving spoon.

"Yes, we don't want a repeat of the chopsticks incident," Edward chuckled.

Bella blushed and Alice squeezed her hand under the table.

"Well, you only live once, right? This might be your last chance to eat chicken masala so you had better take it. Besides, I've already seen that you think this is delicious." Alice gave her an impish grin.

Desperate to change the subject away from her, Bella picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of chicken.

"So, Alice, um, how did you cook this?"

"It was Jazz, actually. He said he missed plucking feathers."

"Don't forget to have some these peas," Edward chimed in, as Bella bit off the end of her piece of chicken.

"You killed this?" Bella choked.

"Did you think chickens grew on trees?" Jasper smiled at her and fended off Alice's swat to the arm. "I used to do it all the time as a boy. My mama would send me out to get a chicken and I would have to wring its neck. She was too softhearted for that kind of work. Chicken blood sure ain't all that tasty, though."

"Yes, Bella, we'll have to catch you some deer next time Alice organizes one of these… dinners. You do eat venison, don't you?" Rosalie gave an icy smile. "Or perhaps a rabbit would be more to your taste? I used have the most darling pair of rabbit skin gloves and I would so love another set."

"I can catch a rabbit." Emmett said between bites.

"Of course can, Munkin, and you can catch an extra for Bella to eat." Rosalie cooed.

"We could do an _Alice in Wonderland_ theme!" Alice squealed in delight, already imagining the outfits.

Bella's stomach turned at the thought of eating a bunny but she determinedly kept chewing. The sooner she finished, the sooner this would end.

Three courses and much uncomfortable conversation later, they were finally down to the rice pudding - gloopy, white, sticky rice pudding.

"Babe, you know what this looks like?" Emmett stage whispered to Rosalie, who giggled.

Edward shot him a glare. "That's not appropriate conversation with a lady present."

"Hey, you're the one who read my mind." Emmett shot back.

"Boys!" Carlisle set down the antique medical volume he had been paging through. "That's enough. We have company."

"But I didn't—"

"Edward, I said that's enough."

Emmett smirked from across the table as Bella scooped up a spoonful of her rice pudding. She closed her eyes and ate the spoonful of dessert. It was sweet and milky; it was also one spoonful too much. Bella's stomach gave an unattractive gurgle and she felt herself blush bright red.

Carlisle looked at her with concern. "Bella, if you need to take a _human moment_, I'll have the girls start clearing the table."

Bella flashed him a look of thanks and walked as quickly as she could to the small bathroom, leaving the bickering Cullens behind.

When Bella emerged, she expected Edward would have been waiting for her but he wasn't. "Alice probably has him doing something," she thought as she walked back towards the main part of the house. "And maybe I can change into my jeans and t-shirt while nobody is paying attention to me."

Her jeans were lying neatly folded by the twinkling lights of the entranceway where she left them. It was just a matter of running out to the car and fetching her t-shirt, which had been safely hidden away in her bag. She took a few jingling steps towards the door and checked over her shoulder. Nobody was watching. She raced for the door and opened it as quietly as she good. Blocking her path was a baby in a wicker basket.

Bella's scream drew every Cullen in the house. They arrived vampire fast, expecting carnage, and instead found Bella staring confusedly at a wailing baby.

Her red sari still immaculately pleated, Rosalie whipped past Bella and was cradling the crying baby before the words, "you're scaring him" sunk in. Edward placed two rock-hard hands on Bella's shoulders and pulled her away, which was fine because she didn't want to be anywhere near the small bundle Rosalie was holding.

Standing with Edward's marble body like a wall at her back, Bella dazzled brain sputtered back into action.

"Alice, you didn't see this coming." Carlisle wasn't asking. "Can you see anything at all? The Volturi?"

Alice shook her head. "I can't watch everybody," she said softly. "Emmett, Jasper, and I can go search the area for the mother, to see if she left a trail."

Carlisle nodded and the three took off into the night. "We should get this baby to the hospital or your father, maybe, Bella."

Rosalie looked up at that, with fire in her eyes. "I will not send this baby to an _institution _or hand him over to the police."

"Is there a note?" Bella absolutely did not want Charlie involved in this, Volturi or not.

Esme checked the basket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "It says, 'Dr. Cullen, I know you are a good man and have a good family. You will be able to give little Paul a better life than I could. Tell him I'm sorry.'"

"Something still doesn't seem right about this." Carlisle began pacing.

"What's not right?" asked Rosalie. She had calmed the baby down by giving him a finger to suck on. "Some poor woman was in over her head and thought you _with all your foster children_ would give little Paul a better life. I don't think that's so wrong."

"Rosalie, think about the mother." Carlisle made a move to take the baby from her arms but she refused, turning her back. "She must be missing her child." He tried again.

Little Paul began to whimper.

"He's cold." Rosalie's voice betrayed the slightest waver. "I'm making him cold."

"Give him here, Rosalie," Esme said, not unkindly. She took the bundle and gave him over to Bella. "Make sure to support his head."

Snuggled next to human warmth, little Paul quickly calmed down. Bella marveled at his tiny face and tiny hands and tiny everything. "Can you read his mind?" she whispered at Edward, who had been silent as the drama played out between his sister and his father.

"He's content, for the moment," said Edward. "Baby minds are really quite simple; I wish I could share in the wholesome pleasures of food and love."

Bella's heart gave a little squeeze at that and she leaned back a little more onto Edward, thinking she could share her warmth with him at least.

Esme, Rosalie, and Carlisle were deep in conference on the other side of the room.

"Do you think I can go sit down?" Bella whispered. "He's kind of heavy."

"Of course, Bella," Carlisle called over. "But first, I must beg a favor from you."

"Um, sure," Bella said, her back beginning to ache.

"We cannot yet be sure that this baby is what he appears to be and I am as reluctant as my daughter to bring the authorities into this situation – no matter how honorable the authorities are." Bella gave a slight nod at his shout-out to Charlie. "I've decided that the baby will stay here for tonight, at least. Rosalie has offered to act as the primary caretaker but I…we would feel better if there was a human here, as well."

Bella looked up at Edward, who smiled down at her. "I guess it's okay, then. I just need to call Charlie."

Carlisle gave her a resigned smile. "Fine. Then you and Rosalie will share her room this evening." He gestured to his son. "Edward, a word?"

Rosalie swept over to Bella. "I'll show you where you'll be staying." And without a word, Bella followed Rosalie up to her room.

Unlike Edward's neat, almost Spartan living space, Rosalie's room looked inviting. Books and magazines were piled by comfortable looking chair by the window. Clothes hung out of the closet and over a beautifully painted Japanese standing screen. A number of green plants and flowers made the sharp, modern lines of the house a bit more organic feeling. There was no trace of a large, very strong, very masculine man.

"I thought you slept with Emmett," Bella heard herself say as she looked around. "I mean, it's very you in here."

"Vampires don't sleep." Rosalie held out her arms for the baby. "I _fuck_ Emmett and you know nothing about me." Bella handed the baby over. "You'll find nightclothes in there." Rosalie pointed to her bureau. "Top drawer, on the left."

Bella dug through the bits of silken nothing looking for something that she wouldn't be completely mortified to wear. She was unsuccessful. "Rosalie, I can't wear—" she began, turning around.

"Maybe you would prefer this?" Rosalie was there holding one of Emmett large, white undershirts.

"Yeah, um, thanks," Bella said, blushing.

"You can change behind there." Rosalie pointed to the Japanese screen. "But first…"

Bella felt Rosalie's cold fingers brush aside her hair and one by one the laces from her top came loose until the fabric flapped limply at her sides. Rosalie let Bella's hair fall back down. It felt good against her bare skin. It also felt good to be free of the constricting top and Bella gave a little sigh pleasure as she walked back behind the Japanese screen to change.

"I always loved the feeling when Eliza, my maid, took off my corset – that first breath is so liberating." The Japanese screen was slightly transparent and Rosalie watched Bella's awkward human form wistfully as she changed. Bella didn't know what she was giving up to become a vampire – feeling one's pulse speed up and breath shorten when one was excited, taking a deep breath of crisp fall air, warming up in front of a roaring fire. These had all been stolen from her and now Bella was going to give them up without a second thought… it made Rosalie sick.

The baby gave a little yawn and Rosalie gave him a kiss on the cheek. He would sleep and she would watch him.

"What should I do with this dress?" Bella asked.

"Just throw it on the floor," Rosalie answered without looking up.

"But—"

"But, what? Are you going to do laundry? No. Do I care about Alice's dresses? No."

Tinkling jewelry and fabric hit the floor. Bella, dressed in the white undershirt, shuffled over to the bed where Rosalie sat.

Rosalie handed over little Paul and went to change – she didn't bother with the modesty screen. She undid the red sari fabric quickly and folded it neatly on her bureau. Dressed only in the red halter-top and underskirt, she began to poke through her drawer of nightclothes. Bella was mesmerized by the open expanse of her midriff. Vampires were rock hard but Rosalie's flesh looked so soft and dimpled that she wanted to touch it to make sure. Still staring at the curve of Rosalie's stomach, Bella gave a slight gasp as the underskirt dropped and the top fluttered to the ground - snowy white thighs and a perfect round ass were all Bella could focus on.

But when Bella blinked, Rosalie was again covered. She was wearing a long, black silk nightgown, slit up both sides. She smiled knowingly at Bella. "I'll take the baby now. You can go to sleep."


End file.
